Well Worth It
by OdangoAtama17
Summary: Do to complications with Voldemort, Snape ends up staying with Hermione Granger over the summer. Takes place the summer before seventh year. Complately disregards Book 6 and the events of book 7.
1. Chapter 1

Well Worth It

Summary: Do to complications with Voldemort, Snape ends up staying with Hermione Granger over the summer. Takes place the summer before seventh year. A/U.

Disclaimer: I do not, and will never own the Harry Potter series or it's characters, for they belong to JK Rowling. I just borrow them to have fun with. :)

Chapter 1: A Backround to the Beginning

"Crucio!"

A new wave of pain shot through Severus. He was suffering once again at the hands of his alleged lord. He wasn't quite sure what had gone wrong during this particular meeting, but something definitely had gone wrong. The only thing Severus heard as everything started to black out, was the ending of the incantation by Voldemort. Voldemort looked from Severus, who was lying on the floor unconscious, to the Death Eaters standing in a ring around himself and Snape, scowling.

"Proceed. Don't kill him. Bring him to the gate of Hogwarts when you are finished with your...fun. He will serve as a warning to the old _fool_." he hissed to his Death Eaters. He turned with one last malevolent look towards Snape, and walked out of the room.

-SHr-

"Hermione, are you going to go to Hogsmeade with us this weekend?" asked Ron as he shoveled a spoonful of food into his mouth.

"No, I'm afraid not. I can't...I have so much studying to do. Exams are in two weeks! I can't possibly..." Harry and Ron looked at each other, rolled their eyes and groaned. However, Hermione who, as usual, was oblivious to the transaction between the boys (or so they thought), just kept on talking.

"Urgh...Hermione..." Ron whined. She stopped and gave him a small glare.

"Really, I would, but there is just two much for me to review. I'd advise you two to stay back and review too, but we all know that _that_ won't ever happen." She stopped and looked at the boys and saw the frown on both their faces. "Oh, come on guys, I'm sorry, really. This is the most important thing to me right now. You guys can go into town without me just this once. We still have next year. I'll tell you what though, you can pick me up some candy from Honeydukes, or smuggle a Butterbeer back for me. I really should go now. I left some books in the common room that are in need of being returned to the library. See you later." With that, Hermione walked out of the Great Hall. Harry and Ron looked at each other, shrugged their shoulders, and went back to eating.

"Hey, Ron did you see Hermione eat anything?" asked Harry.

"Uhhh...no," he said through a mouthful of food, "Why?" he finished after swallowing.

"Just weird, is all." Harry looked at Ron, and they both just shrugged their shoulders, and started to talk about what they were going to do on their last trip to Hogsmeade.

-SHr-

Hermione was running until she came to the stairs. It was then she started walking the rest of the way to the Gryffindor Common room up in Gryffindor Tower. After all, what good would it be for her to run up the stairs, and risk getting hurt? She wouldn't be able to take her exams then. '_No, that would not be good at all.' _Plus, she was in a hurry to get her books out of there before the common room filled up with students going to the Hogsmeade Village. Lost in her own thoughts, she walked down the hall and bumped into Professor Dumbledore.

"Oh, Professor Dumbledore, sir! I'm sorry. I was lost in thought and wasn't paying attention to where I was..." before she could finish her sentence and make a fool out of herself, the Professor interrupted her.

"Quite alright, Miss Granger, quite alright. Miss Granger, might I ask why you are not in the Great Hall with your friends discussing what you will do on your last trip to Hogsmeade this year?" he asked. Hermione looked up at him, and took a moment to study him. The normal sparkles that were usually in his eyes were gone, and he was unusually pale. However, what alarmed Hermione the most was that the Headmaster looked everyday his 150 -something years. Something was terribly wrong.

"I was going to go return some books to the library, then get in a few hours of studying in. Exams are just around the corner. Sir, is everything alright?"

"To be quite honest, Miss Granger, no. But do not worry about it. It is not something you need to worry about at the present time. You have enough on your hands at the time, what with the end of the year exams in two weeks. Your time is much better spent on that than listen to an old man like myself carry on about things. Besides, it wouldn't be very good if our future Head Girl flunked her exams, now would it?" he said with a slight smile. Hermione just stood there gaping at him. "I'll see you at dinner, Miss Granger. Good luck with your studies," he said and continued to walk down the hall. It was then that Hermione snapped back to reality.

"Goodbye, sir, and thank you!" she yelled after him. Hermione smiled her first real smile that morning and started to walk towards Gryffindor Tower again, this time with more to think about. '_I'll be Head Girl? This is like a dream come true. But I wonder what is wrong. It's not like the Headmaster to be like that. He said it was nothing for me to worry about yet. Does that mean that in some way, I'm involved with whatever is happening? Well, I guess the best thing for right now, is to let everything unfold on its own, right?'_ Hermione nodded to herself, and looked up. She was already at the common room entrance.

The Fat Lady smiled down at her, "Hello, Dearie. Password?"

"Hello. Gryffindor Rules," she answered with a smile.

"Indeed. Have a nice day Dearie."

"You as well, and thank you." The Fat Lady nodded and the portrait opened. Hermione walked through to the common room.

End of Chapter 1

A/N: This is my first fic, so any constructive criticism is welcome. Also, I am in need of a beta. So, if someone is interested, it would be greatly appreciated. I shall try to make future chapters longer than this one. Please R&R. thanks.

-OdangoAtama17-


	2. Chapter 2

Well Worth It

Summary: Do to complications with Voldemort, Snape ends up staying with Hermione Granger over the summer. Takes place the summer before seventh year. A/U.

Disclaimer: I do not, and will never own the Harry Potter series or it's characters, for they belong to JK Rowling. I just borrow them to have fun with. :)

A/N: This will be a fic that will have the relationship between our favorite two characters progress slowly, but the time frame will go very quickly in the next few chapters. Snape may be a little OOC during this. Sorry for the long wait...just came back from my new BETA...Darc Fire...yay!

Chapter 2

_**Last Chapter:**_

_"Hello. Gryffindor Rules," she answered with a smile._

_"Indeed. Have a nice day Dearie."_

_"You as well, and thank you." The Fat Lady nodded and the portrait opened. Hermione walked through to the common room._

-SHr-

Severus opened his eyes, but the quick onslaught of light made him close them again quickly. He slowly opened them again, letting his eyes adjust to the light slowly. As soon as his eyes fully cooperated with him, he sat up in the bed he was in and looked at his surroundings. Four white walls, windows in the wall to his left, an office, double doors that led out, and about twenty or so beds in the room. He was in the Hospital Wing at Hogwarts. '_But how did I get here?'._ his thoughts were soon interrupted by Madam Pomfey, who, after seeing him awake, came bustling over with several potion vials in her hands. She smiled.

"You're awake, finally. You've been out cold for the past three days. We were all starting to get really worried. After all, who wouldn't when we have to sit and watch you go out and spy on that horrible creature, and then you come back in the state that you're always in and who has to heal you? Me!" As Madam Pomfrey was talking she uncorked one of the vials and handed it to him.

"Drink up. How that old man we call a Headmaster can keep sending you out there time after time" Severus just rolled his eyes, and sniffed the vial she handed him, and grimaced. '_Pepper Up. Well, bottoms up.' _He downed the potion as quickly as was possible to do so. He tuned back in to listening the older woman rant and rave about their _wonderful_ Headmaster.

"Severus, Severus, are you listening to me?" Severus could hear the annoyance in her voice.

"Of course. It is not like I have anything else to do at the moment, now do I?" That earned him a glare, but he was unfazed by it. The doors to the Hospital Wing opened and in walked the subject of Madam Pomfrey's ranting, along with Professor McGonagall, who stayed by the door.

"Well, speak of the Devil. Not too long Albus, I mean it," Pomfey glared at him.

"Not to worry Poppy. I shan't stay too long," He gave her a wink of his eye and chuckled when she harrumphed and walked into her office. Dumbledore cast a Silencing spell on the room.

"My, my, Poppy seems to be in a state. Whatever did you do to her, Severus?" He chuckled again when Severus rolled his eyes. The room fell silent for a about a minute or so, that was, until Severus broke it.

"Albus, are you alright? You really aren't looking so well. You look, well, _old_." He asked in a concerned voice. Most people thought Severus Snape was an uncaring bastard of a man, only caring about himself and what could benefit him. Well, Severus begged to argue with that. He cared. He just...wasn't very good at showing it. But seeing Dumbledore like the way he was now worried Severus. '_He's like a father to me...always has been...always will be.' _

"Do not worry about me, my boy. You are the one sitting in a hospital bed. Which we need to discuss _what_ exactly happened. It is apparent that you that you were found out. That is most unfortunate, but we will deal with this as best we can. But, I must ask you, is there anything that you need to tell me?" Severus nodded.

"Albus, there was a raid last night..."

"Who's was it, Severus?"

"Miss Granger's..."A gasp could be heard from McGonagall, "...I tried to save them, Albus, I tried. All of them, her mother, her father, her younger sister. But...I was too late..." Severus went silent.

"This is very grave indeed. Do not worry over this my boy. There was nothing you could do. I will do what I can for the both of you. For now, just rest. I shall call an Order meeting for as soon as you are healed. Rest, my boy. We shall discuss the rest at a later point in time." With that Dumbledore got up, walked to McGonagall who had her hand over her mouth and tears in her eyes, and motioned for her to walk out of the infirmary ahead of him. McGonagall turned towards the Headmaster.

"Albus... what are we going to do? Poor Miss Granger. She will be heartbroken. And Severus, he cannot stay here anymore, Albus..." she was cut off by him.

"No, I'm afraid, Severus cannot stay here. He will be more safe somewhere else. And, Miss Granger...I will figure something out. Something that will benefit the both of them. I must go, Minerva. Bring Miss Granger, to my office after dinner. We shall tell her then." Minerva nodded, and watched Albus walk down the hall. She turned to go herself. '_It really just isn't fair. The poor girl will be hurting so much. Her family is gone. And poor Severus...I really hope we come up with a solution to help him as well.'_

A/N. I am so sorry. I know this isn't much, but I just wanted to get SOMETHING in. And I am sorry about the length of time it has taken. I have had some problems lately that I have a need to sort out. I shall try to do better in the future though. I really am sorry. Thank you to those who reviewed. R & R please.

-OdangoAtama17-


	3. Chapter 3

Well Worth It

Summary: Do to complications with Voldemort, Snape ends up staying with Hermione Granger over the summer. Takes place the summer before seventh year. A/U.

Disclaimer: I do not, and will never own the Harry Potter series or it's characters, for they belong to JK Rowling. I just borrow them to have fun with. :)

A/N: This will be a fic that will have the relationship between our favorite two characters progress slowly.

Chapter 3

_**Last Chapter:**_

_"No, I'm afraid, Severus cannot stay here. He will be more safe somewhere else. And, Miss Granger...I will figure something out. Something that will benefit the both of them. I must go, Minerva. Bring Miss Granger, to my office after dinner. We shall tell her then." _Minerva nodded, and watched Albus walk down the hall. She turned to go herself. '_It really just isn't fair. The poor girl will be hurting so much. Her family is gone. And poor Severus...I really hope we come up with a solution to help him as well.'_

-SHr-

Severus had had enough of the unnatural whiteness and sterilness of the infirmary. He wanted out. Now, and to his dismay, he was now fighting with the overly-stubborn mediwitch. It was giving him a severe headache.

"Blast it, woman! Let me go. I have been here for far too long. It is enough to drive a man insane! Mainly me! And I am perfectly able to take care of myself now!" he said heatedly. Unfortunately for him, it had no effect on Madam Pomfrey what-so-ever. She merely shook her head.

"Absolutely not, Severus. The Headmaster said you were to stay here until _I_ thought you were well enough to leave. Seeing how you haven't been released yet, you can take a _wild_ guess as to what _I _think..." she, however was cut off by the sound of growling and Severus's voice.

"_I_ don't _care_ how you_ think _I am health wise. I am _telling _you that I am_ perfectly _fine. However, I doubt I will be if I am contained in this place _any_ longer. I am doing nothing but wasting away here. I must get out of here if I am to keep the little bit of sanity that I have left!" Severus was fuming. Madam Pomfrey just stood there watching him. After a minute, she sighed.

"Very well, Severus. I will allow you to leave the Infirmary. But only with the conditions of not over-exerting yourself. If you do anything, _anything_, that violates these conditions Professor, I promise you will be back in here before you can say _Hospital Wing. _Is that clear and understood to the fullest?" She watched the youngest professor reluctantly nod his head in consent. Madam Pomfrey waved her wand to undo the binding charm she placed on him. He got up, and started the walk to the double doors of the Infirmary. He turned back, and quietly said a thank you. So quiet that he was sure even Pomfrey didn't hear it.

_Four weeks later..._

Hermione sighed, she was home. To say she was thrilled would be both an understatement and an overstatement. Hogwarts had been her home for the past six years. And since her parents' deaths three weeks ago, she didn't have anyone to come home to. Yes, she had been invited to stay with the ever-welcoming Weasley's. Harry was staying there also. But, to her, it just wouldn't have been the same. She would still have had to go home to an empty place, anyway, a place that screamed of her parent's brutal deaths to her. But on the other side, she was somewhat grateful. Professor Dumbledore approached her two weeks prior, and had asked if she would be willing to do him and the Order, a favor. Of course, for want of getting her mind off certain events, she readily agreed. Little did she know, though, of what she had so willingly agreed to get herself in to.

-SHr-

Severus sighed. He couldn't believe he was about to do this. Since Dumbledore insisted on not letting him know of who he was to stay with, Severus was less inclined to give up his summer for this. '_I am perfectly fine. I can take care of myself. All I know is, if I end up with someone that he knows I cannot stand, I will guarantee that some heads will roll. But then again, maybe I will luck out...the likelihood of that happening though? Not much.'_

Severus glanced down at the paper Dumbledore had given him. It held the address, and picture, of the residence of where he was to go to. He glanced back at the castle, and stepped out of the gates. He took a last look at the picture, closed his eyes, and apparated. A second later he re-opened his eyes. His eyebrow shot up. The house he was standing in front of was medium sized, and white. He cringed as his eyes fell over all the window shutters. They were painted _pink. _He rolled his eyes heavenward as he stepped up to the door. He raised his hand to knock. His hand froze as the door opened to reveal...

"Miss. Granger..."

-SHr-

A/N: yes, yes, I know. School has been unbelievable. Paper after paper...its crazy.

-OdangoAtama17-


	4. Author Note

Authors note

Hey folks. Sorry for the really long waiting time period. I should however have the next chapter up within the day or so...I promise. if not, then all you can hunt me down... ;-). I am working on the chapter now, but since it is 2:30 am and I have to be up in the morning, I am going to give it a rest for a while. School is over now, and the hectic part of the summer for me, also is. So it should be a bit easiee for me to get on to update. I will try, try, try to do one a week.

Anyway, thank you guys for being patient once again. By the way, I am in need of another Beta...so anyone interested can email me. It would much appreciated. Thanks again.

OdangoAtama17


	5. Chapter 4

Summary: Do to complications with Voldemort, Snape ends up staying with Hermione Granger over the summer. Takes place the summer before seventh year. A/U.

Disclaimer: I do not, have not, and will never own the Harry Potter series or it's characters, for they belong to JK Rowling. I just borrow them to have fun with. :)

A/N: This will be a fic that will have the relationship between our favorite two characters progress slowly.

Chapter 4

_**Last Chapter:**_

_Severus glanced down at the paper Dumbledore had given him. It held the address, and picture, of the residence of where he was to go to. He glanced back at the castle, and stepped out of the gates. He took a last look at the picture, closed his eyes, and apparated. A second later he re-opened his eyes. His eyebrow shot up. The house he was standing in front of was medium sized, and white. He cringed as his eyes fell over all the window shutters. They were painted pink. He rolled his eyes heavenward as he stepped up to the door. He raised his hand to knock. His hand froze as the door opened to reveal..._

_"Miss. Granger..." _

-SHr-

"Professor Snape?..." Hermione, much to the confusion of Severus, stood in the doorway for a moment, then laughed. He raised his eyebrow.

"Is there something funny, Miss Granger? Or are you going to stand in the doorway all day yacking like a Hyena?" That had shut her up. She gave him a glare that could almost rival one of his own, almost. She stepped away from the doorway and motioned for him to step inside.

"I'm _sorry_, sir. It is just, I was told to expect _someone_, but I didnt think it would be _you _of all people. Well, are you going to come in or not?" He was still standing outside the door. Giving her an scathing look, he stepped inside and she shut the door behind him. Severus stood siffly as she walked around him and down the hall. After some self-debating, he followed her. As he walked, he took in everything around him. After all, he would be staying here for the next two months. He walked on. The walls of the hallway were white, and littered with muggle pictures. He stopped at one. In the picture stood a man and a woman in wedding attire. The man had sandy brown hair, glasses perched on the end of his nose, and his arms were around the woman in the picture. The woman had blonde hair that was piled on top of her head, with a few tresses hanging down around her face. They both had brown eyes that twinkled in happiness, and big smiles on their faces. Severus was so engrossed in looking at the picture, he didn't notice Hermione walk up beside him.

"Those are my parents on there wedding day. Come this August they would have been married for twenty-three years. I miss them greatly... " Snape broke his gaze from the picture to look at her. He took the moment to study her. She was tall, not as tall as he, but she came to slightly over his shoulder. She had on a pair of dark denim jeans that belled at the bottom and a black turtle neck. Both were very form fitting. Snape felt heat rise into his face. _' This is the girl I have taught for six years? No...she is no girl. She is very much grown up.' _He shook his head slightly, and resumed his previous actions. Under the crease of the turtle neck hung a silver neclace that had a small silver cross on it. He raised his eyes to study her face. She had indeed grown up. Her face had lost any baby fat that it had held when she was a child. Her eyes were a deep dark chocolate brown and held a sadness in them. Her hair had, instead of the unruly locks of her childhood, smoothed out and fell in waves down her back. After a few moments more, she must have sensed him studying her because she turned to look at him.

"Professor?" Once more he shok his head slightly. He looked her in the eyes.

"I'm truly sorry, Miss Granger." She waved her hand as to dismiss it. She turned to continue walking down the hall.

"Shall we continue, Professor? I'm sure you would like to get settled in." He nodded and followed her down the hall. They came to a room, also white, that had two doorways off of it, one to his right and one straight ahead. Next to the door on the right were two staircases, one heading to the second level of the house, and another heading downwards, to where he didn't know. On his left there was an entry way that led into, what he presumed, the family room. He heard Hermione clear her throat.

"Professor, this room is where pretty much everything lead off of." She pointed to her right (his left)."That is the family room. And acroos from there is the downstairs loo. And that," she pointed to the last door, "leads to the kitchen. The stairs on the right lead up to the upstairs bedrooms." Snape inclined his head towards her in understanding.

"If I may ask, Miss Granger, where does the other staircase lead to?" She looked at him a moment, and a slight smile graced her face. She walked towards it, and motioned for him to follow. There weren't many stairs, maybe about ten or twelve, and the curved to the left. His eyebrow popped as he walked to the middle of the room. The color of the walls were not white this time, but a relaxing shade of purple. He looked around. One wall was completely encased in shelves of books. Next to them was a desk, facing the wall to the right. On the other side of the wall of books there was another table, but longer this time. What was on top of it made his eyebrow raise a bit further. It was all her potions equiptment. Filing that away for later use, he continued to look around the room. On the other side of the room, in the left corner, a painters easel stood with a clear canvas on it. Looking closer, he noticed that it was indeed not clear but had light pencil markings on it, apparently it was still in the planning stages. All around the easel on the floor, were little bottles of different colored paints. On the walls around the easel area looked as if paint was simply flicked onto the walls, and let dry. Quite fitting for a place to paint, he thought. He turned to the opposite corner. There was an assortment of instruments on stands. A clarinet, a flute, a violin, an acoustic guitar, and even a harp. His other brow joined its twin. On the walls on this side, instead of just a myriad of paint flicked spots, there were music notes of all kinds, as well as base notes and clef notes. He turned to Hermione who was watching him.

"You have the top grades of your year, and here not only do you have an impressive book collection, you play music wih multiple instruments, and you paint. You truly are a know-it-all." He said all this with a smirk. She nodded. The professor had given her, what she translated it as, a compliment. Those from her professor were few and far between...well, more like never. For the first time, she was actually flattered about something he said to her. She blushed for a moment, and then got herself under control.

"Thank you, sir. This is my room, to do what I wish. A recreation room, so to say. This is also where I do my summer school work. Are you hungry?" she watched him nod, "Come on. I'll show you to your room and then I'll head to the kitchen and make something to eat. Does BLT sandwiches sound good? Maybe some fruit salad too?" He looked at her questioningly as he followed her back upstairs to the main floor, and then, again, up the stairs to the second floor.

"BLT?"

"Oh. Its bacon, lettuce, and tomato on bread. Its really good. I have an aunt that lives in America and I went to visit her one summer when I was younger. She always made them for me, and I fell in love with them. So naturaly, when I got back home I made my mum make them for me all the time. Ah, here we are. This is the guest room. My room is that one there," she pointed to a door slightly a ways down the hall. "And the door across from mine is the upstairs loo. The room at the end of the hall was my..." she paused but quickly regained the strength to say it, "...my parents room. Well, I should go start on lunch. See you in a bit Professor." With that she turned to go downstairs to the kitchen. Snape turned the brass door knob, and pushed. He walked in the room. He was surpised. He honestly expected the walls to be white and the room being rather uncomfortable like. But, no. The walls were a shade of dark blue. The spred on the large four poster bed was a rich dark forrest green with dark blue sheets under it. By the bed, was a table that had a lamp on it, and a small black box that had glowing red numbers on it. The furniture, a dresser and a desk, were all of a deep mohagany wood and there was a closet on the left of the door coming in. The Grangers, if this room was anything to go by, had some taste. Atleast, it made up for those horrid pink shutters around the windows he saw coming in. Severus reached into the pocket of his robes, and pulled out his shrunken luggage and put them onto the bed. With a wave of his wand, the luggage engorged to its original size. He waved his wand again, and all his bags opened, except one, and their contents scattered across the room to the places that they would be kept during his stay at Know-It-All Granger's house. The bag that had not been opened was the one that he brought any potions equiptment that he would need to continue some of the experiments he had been working on for some time. Although he would need to talk to her to see if he could possibly either work in her area that she had set up, or talk her into letting Dumbledore come transfigure a room for him. To his misfortune, he wasn't as adept at transfiguration.

Sighing, he shrugged off his outer robes. The house was cool, but not cold enough to need them. He placed his robes in the closet, and went to the table next to the bed. He opened the drawer and took out a fine-toothed comb and a clear rubber band. He started to comb through his hair, and when he was done, he secured his hair in the rubber band at the base of his neck. He took one last look around the room to make sure everything was in the place he wanted them. _' Well, might as well head down and see what is so good about these BLT's that Miss Granger talks about so fondly.' _ With that thought in mind, he turned towards the door, and headed out, being sure to close the door behind him.

A/N - Yay!!!! Took me a while for this one...I am starting on number 5 right now...but tomorrow i have a family party to go to for the WHOLE day! ugh...but be asured, i have alot of ideas for this, and i will try to update more. Also as, i mentioned before, i am looking for another beta...so if you are interested, please contact me. Thank you to all those that have reviewed and have added my story. well, enjoy. Read and Review as always. :-)

OdangoAtama17


	6. Author Note 2

Author's Note

hey guys, sorry for the very long break for this story, and my other one. Good news, i will be taking these up again. Chapter 5 is on its way. Should be up in the next day or two....i have to go and regroup what i had before...i lost all the info...

sorry for the long haitus..

Odango


	7. Chapter 5

Summary: Do to complications with Voldemort, Snape ends up staying with Hermione Granger over the summer. Takes place the summer before seventh year. A/U.

Disclaimer: I do not, have not, and will never own the Harry Potter series or it's characters, for they belong to JK Rowling. I just borrow them to have fun with. :)

A/N: Hey people!! sorry about the long extended wait. Dont know what has come over me the past year or so. Thanks to all that kept adding my story to their favorites, and those that were adding to their alerts....when i started to get so many in, it kind of kicked my butt into gear. So now on with chapter 5...

Chapter 5

_**Last Chapter:**_

_Sighing, he shrugged off his outer robes. The house was cool, but not cold enough to need them. He placed his robes in the closet, and went to the table next to the bed. He opened the drawer and took out a fine-toothed comb and a clear rubber band. He started to comb through his hair, and when he was done, he secured his hair in the rubber band at the base of his neck. He took one last look around the room to make sure everything was in the place he wanted them. ' Well, might as well head down and see what is so good about these BLT's that Miss Granger talks about so fondly.' With that thought in mind, he turned towards the door, and headed out, being sure to close the door behind him. _

_-_Shr-

Severus walked down the stairs toward where he assumed the kitchen was. Then again, it wasn't that hard because he could hear someone singing and music in the background. That someone was Miss Granger and what he presumed they called a radio. Also, the smell of cooked bacon permeated through the house. He walked down the rest of the hallway, and opened the door. He could hear clearly what Miss Granger was singing as she was facing away from the door at the counter. As she sang, he could see her right hand moving back and forth with a knife. After moving a little closer he could see that she was cutting a head of lettuce. While he looked around the kitchen, he listened to what she was actually singing.

"I have a dream.

A song to sing,

to help me cope,

with anything.

If you see the wonder

of a fairytale.

You can change the future,

even if you fail.

I believe in angels.

Something good in everything i see.

I believe in angels,

when i know the time is right for me.

I'll cross the stream,

I have a dream.."

Severus raised an eyebrow. Something that he had done a lot of in the past hour or so he was there. He was surprised at the girl's vocal chords. Somehow the seemed to fit her voice. _'Not only is she perfect in her schooling, she paints, plays multiple instruments, has a book collection almost rivaling my own (but not quite), but now she also is a proficient singer.'_ Before he got too distracted, he decided that it would be best to interrupt her, and offer to at the very least help with lunch as she was being generous in letting him stay there. Yes, that would be the polite thing to do, only thing is that he was not a polite man. But the Headmaster had gave him a strict warning to show her some respect or something unpleasant would happen to him (well, nothing as unpleasant as if he was caught by the Dark Lord), but he still shuddered at the very thought. Yes, it'd be better to help.

"Hmm-hmm. Miss Granger?" He politely interrupted her singing. He, however, received no answer. He called her name out again but, as before, there was no answer. He called her name out a third time, louder than the two times before, and twice as impatient. Still no answer. Not liking being ignored, Severus walked up behind her, flicked his wand which turned the 'radio' off, and he placed a hand on her shoulder. She jumped, and in the process, cut her hand with the knife she was still holding.

"OUCH!" She squealed, looking down at the cut on her finger. Before running to the Sink on the other side of the counter, she turned and glared at Severus. Severus felt a pang of guilt at her having cut her hand, but his mind told him that it was her own fault. He had called out her name three separate times. He rolled his eyes at the sight of Hermione running her hand under water, and then wrapping her finger in a dish towel that was nearby. That slightly annoyed him.

"Miss Granger, are you or are you not a witch? You could fix that right up with your wand, and have it stop bleeding faster than you can trying to stem the bleeding with a towel.." he motioned for her to come to him. Glaring all the way, she did. He took the towel from her finger, waved his wand, and murmured a simple healing spell. In moments her finger was as good as new. She tore her hand away from his and turned back to the counter to finish her task She put the lettuce in a plastic bowl, and put it in the refrigerator, then walked back to the counter to start on the fruit salad. He sighed, and walked over to her left side. He carefully took the knife from her hands when she froze up with him near, and nudged her aside. Surprisingly, she let him do it. He started cutting the fruits she set out for the salad, pausing only to tell her he would take care of the rest, and ask her to set the table.

-Shr-

Hermione set plates out, along with spoons for the fruit salad, and two knives onto the table. As she grabbed some napkins from the napkin holder on the counter, she took a chance to look at her professor. He looked very tired. He had bags under his eyes, and his eyes looked slightly sunken in. He was thin. Thinner than she would have guessed, but who would be able to tell with all the voluminous robes he was known to wear. But it was visible with the clothes he was wearing. He had opted for some black pants that led down to black socks, and then to black polished shoes. He had on a starch white button-up shirt with the first button undone. His hair, to her surprise was tied back at the nape of his neck instead of its usual lankiness. A few pieces had fallen out and was hanging around his face as he concentrated on cutting a some kiwi. She had always liked him. He was different than the other teachers, he didn't praise her. Instead he pushed her to the brink of insanity with all the name calling and stuff. But she knew he couldn't be as bad as everyone made him out to be. He was just like that because he had a double spy image to hold up. But no matter how much he teased her, she had liked him. But this, this was different. If he wasn't her professor, she would have thought he looked somewhat attractive. As if reading her thoughts, he looked up at her. Hermione felt a faint blush come across her cheeks. She turned back towards the table with the napkins, where she placed one at each place mat, and the rest in the middle. She then, plated the cooked bacon she set aside, grabbed the lettuce out of the fridge, and brought both to the table. Looking over everything, she saw she was missing the 'T' part of a BLT....the tomato. Luckily enough, she had some cut up tomato from a salad she made the day before that she hadn't used, and she grabbed that from the fridge as well as some mayonnaise. The rolls she had on the table earlier that she had never put away from breakfast. She looked to see Snape bringing over the bowl of fruit salad, which he put on the table along with everything else. Once he saw that Hermione had sat down, he sat himself down in the chair across from her. She looked at him.

"Help yourself, Professor."

He motioned for her to go before him so that he could see the proper way of making this "BLT". He watched as she took a roll, opened it, and slathered some mayonnaise on it. On came two pieces of bacon, some lettuce, then tomato. She closed the sandwich, placed it on her plate and helped herself to the fruit salad. He copied her, and had a sandwich and some salad on his plate a few minutes later. He was surprised at how good it was for something muggle-made when he bit into the sandwich. He ate it bite after bite, soon to look at his empty plate and an amused Hermione. He raised an eyebrow in question at her. She shook her head.

"Nothing, Professor. Nothing at all." He nodded in doubt at her answer to his unspoken question.

"Very well." He watched her look back down at her plate with the tinniest smile upon her lips. She got up and excused herself for a few minutes to go to the loo. When she came back, he was eating another sandwich, and she couldn't help but laugh this time. He had a little bit if mayonnaise on the side of his mouth from the sandwich. He looked at her questioningly again.

"What the devil are you laughing at, Miss Granger?" She just looked at him, laughed a little more then settled down. She handed him a napkin.

"I'm sorry Professor. It's just, it is not everyday that someone gets to see the Big Black Bat of the Dungeons with mayonnaise on the side of his mouth." She giggled a little at this. He stared at her for a moment, took the napkin and wiped the right side of his mouth. His cheeks tinted red a bit from the embarrassment of it all.

Hermione looked at him again, and grinned. He had missed a spot. _'Oh well. I guess if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself." _She grabbed another napkin, got up, and walked over to his side of the table. She reached down and wiped the part that he missed. He glanced up at her, and their eyes connected. Even though this was so wrong, they couldn't help but feel the gravitational pull between the two of them. All that was running through Hermione's head as she started to lean down, eyes still locked with her professor's, was how wrong it all was, but also how right it felt looking into his bottomless pools of black. Unbeknown to her, the same thing was running through Severus' head. Neither of them cared though.

They got closer and closer, almost an inch or so away from each other's face when Hermione sprung back as the sound of the kitchen door opening. It was no one other than Albus Dumbledore.

-Shr-

Albus Dumbledore was sitting in his office talking with some of the portraits about some recent going-on's within the school. After he was briefed, he had decided that he had better drop in_ 'Drop in...ha..' _at Miss Granger's to see if those two hadn't killed each other yet. He also had to have a short talk with Severus about what should happen if he was found out, and the Death Eaters came to get him at Miss Granger's. He got up, grabbed a handful of Floo Powder, threw it in the fireplace, clearly called out "Hermione Granger's house", and stepped through.

He stepped out of the fireplace into the Granger's living room, and followed the sound of laughter. Laughter wasn't what he had expected out of all things, but he guessed that it was a better start than if those two were fighting. When he reached the room that the laughter was coming from, he opened the door. What he saw, he suspected, was going to become something more if he hadn't stepped in.

While Hermione turned to clean off everything on the table, Dumbledore motioned for Severus to follow. He nodded and muttered a quick 'thank you' to Hermione and followed Dumbledore out into the Granger's family room.

_**Next Chapter****:**_

_Severus has a talk with Dumbledore, Severus and Hermione get into a fight, Hermione babysits and all hell breaks loose._

A/N: Well, there you go! It isnt as much as i wanted to write, but as it is one in the morning, and i am wicked tired from being at work all day, i will post this so you guys atleast have something. I should have another chapter up by the end of the weekend, Monday the very latest. I also would like to point out the reason i put in the "almost" scene (you guys know what im talking about XD) In this story, Hermione has always liked Snape. And he has always admired her, only not being able to express it because of his Death Eater facade. So for Hermione the feelings are there, and for Snape, he is just noticing her as a young woman. So his feelings arent as developed. The scene is in there becausse:

it adds a lot more tension between the two

it will come into play later in the story

it just felt right to put it there.

I know it may seem a bit rushed, putting that scene there, but it will help the story later on, so trust me in this. And if the chapter does does seemed rushed a bit, im terribly sorry. I havent written any fanfiction in the past year or so, so i am just getting back into the scheme of things. Will get better in the next chapters to come, i promise.

Now that i have written a novel-length Author's note (lol), i will only add a few more things (i promise!...*ducks from tomatoes being thrown at me*. I want to thank again, all those that have been adding me to favorites and alerts. You guys got my butt in gear. Secondly, i still do not have a beta for this story, so if anyone is interested, pm me. Thirdly...as always READ AND REVIEW!!! now that i'm writing again, lets keep those nice little reviews coming, and keeping my butt in gear so i dont stop again!

~OdangoAtama17


End file.
